European Elite Men’s Championship squad named
London 2012 bronze medallist Michael Conlan has been named on a seven-strong Irish squad for the European Elite Men’s Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria next month.
The World No. 2 ranked WSB boxer, who earned a quota place for the Rio Olympics through the WSB in Venequela in April and who secured silver at the 2013 European Elites, will wear the Irish bantamweight vest in Sofia.
Joe Ward, who meets Kennedy St Pierre of Mauritius in his last AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) fight of the season in Sofia this Saturday, has also been called up to the Irish team.
Ward claimed European Elite gold aged just 17 in 2011. London 2012 Olympians Darren O’Neill, a former European Elite silver medallist, and Adam Nolan are included in the squad for Bulgaria.
Limerick’s Myles Casey, the first boxer in the history of the sport to win a European Game bout at the recent European Games in Azerbaijan, has also been called up, along with Wexford’s Dean Walsh and Tipperary’s Dean Gardiner.
The European Elite Championships in Sofia is acting as a qualifier for October’s AIBA World Men’s Elite Championships in Doha, Qatar, which is a qualifier for Rio 2016.
The top six boxers (the semi-finalists and the quarter-finalist that lose to the eventual finalists) in each of the ten weight classes in the Bulgarian capital will qualify for Doha.
Michael O’Reilly, Brendan Irvine and Sean McComb booked tickets for Doha after winning gold, silver and bronze at the European Games.
The European Elite squad, plus O’Reilly, Irvine, McComb, Ceire Smith and Kurt Walker are due to travel to Sheffield on Sunday for a training camp at the English Institute of Sport
European Elite men’s Championships August 6th/15th
52kg Myles Casey (St Francis)
56kg Michael Conlan (St John Bosco)
64kg Dean Walsh (St Joesphs/St Ibars)
69kg Adam Nolan (Bray)
81kg Joe Ward (APB)
91kg Darren O’Neill (Paulstown)
91kg+ Dean Gardiner (Clonmel)
Team Manager: Peter O’Donnell
Coaches: Billy Walsh, Zauri Antia and Eddie Bolger
Physiotherapist: Julianne Ryan
Sports Psychologist: Gerry Hussey
Performance Analyst: Alan Swanton
Cuts Man: Dr John Haughey
